Wednesday, October 16th, 2024
Just in time for breast cancer awareness month, PocketHealth has launched new tools that empower women to be proactive about their breast health. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian women, accounting for 25% of all new cancer cases. However, the five-year survival rate for breast cancer is as high as 99% when caught early. The problem is that many Canadians are not getting screened early enough. In fact, over 40% of eligible women in Ontario are not up to date on their mammograms.
PocketHealth’s new tools aim to solve this issue. The tools can provide personalized breast cancer risk assessments, as well as mammogram eligibility alerts and booking support. The personalized risk assessments can calculate a person’s “cancer risk score”, which provides both a 5-year and a lifetime risk estimate, calculated using an industry-standardized model. The tools also help patients better understand their examination results by defining complex medical terminology and highlighting follow-up recommendations.
Kaelynd Gouveia, Group Product Manager at PocketHealth, explains that the company is “giving people the tools they need to take charge of their health and make decisions with confidence, knowing they have the right information at the right time.”
PocketHealth was founded by brothers Rishi and Harsh Nayyar after Harsh injured his ankle playing tennis in 2016, requiring him to get an MRI. When he was handed a CD-ROM that contained his results, he realized that the medical imaging process had become outdated.
In its first funding round in 2020, the company raised $9.1 million. Two years later, it raised $20 million in Series A financing. Most recently, in March of this year, PocketHealth secured $45 million in its Series B financing round. According to co-founder Rishi, the goal is to get PocketHealth “in front of every patient and every provider in North America.”
Author: Annie MacKinnon, 2024-2025 Articling Student
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